Like every year, the Hungarian Post (Magyar Posta) has issued, on May 6, 2011, a series of stamps devoted to the Fauna of Hungary ("Magyarország állatvilága") and to butterflies ("lepkék") in particular this time.

A set of four stamps was issued as well as a souvenir sheet consisting of one stamp (600 Ft), appearing on the cover below mailed on April 12, 2012 from the capital, Budapest.

On November 25, 2011, the Post of Slovenia has issued an interesting souvenir sheet consisting of a stamp (€ 0.77), dedicated to the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park. This park, located on the Slovenian coast, near the border with Croatia, is the principal place of production of sea salt in the country (since over 700 years).

This sheet shows workers harvesting salt in the salt evaporation ponds, with a special tool called "gavero" in Slovenian. The 650 hectares of salt marshes are now classified Nature Park because they are home to a unique ecosystem (egrets, terns, rare plants...), symbolized in the top margin of the sheet.

It is that sheet that appears to the left on the beautiful cover below mailed on April 25, 2012 from Ljubljana, the capital. Thank you very much Petra :-)

The Post of Slovenia continues its annual series devoted to Gastronomy with two new stamps (permanent postal rate "D") issued se-tenant on November 25, 2011.

One of these two stamps, above to the right, evokes a dish called "Loška smojka", a specialty of the region of Škofja Loka (north of the country) based on cooked turnips (in an iron pot) and then stuffed with millet and pork lard.

The other stamp features a traditional pastry from the region of Bled, called "Bled kremšnita". Invented by a baker arrived in Bled after the second world war, this dessert is made from sweet vanilla cream, whipped cream and puff pastry sprinkled with sugar... yum yum !

The last stamp above (€ 0.27), issued on January 27, 2012, is also part of an annual stamp set, this time devoted to traditional costumes from different regions of Slovenia.

This stamp features a watercolor by Franz Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein (1838) showing a peasant couple from the Gorenjska region (Bohinj), in north-western country, part of the collections of the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum.

After a rather quiet month of April, the French Post has planned a fraught month of May with no less than eight stamp series !

As in previous months, I'm happy to share with you the page devoted to this month of May below, being part of the beautiful 2012 stamp calendar published by the ADPhile.

Two joint issues will first succeed (on May 4th and 14th respectively) : Contemporary Art (four stamps with Hong Kong, China) and 600 years of the birth of Joan of Arc (one stamp with the Vatican City).

There will be something for everyone with the three other series also issued on May 14th : Railway (with the centenary of the locomotive Pacific 231 K8), wildlife (sheet of four "birds" stamps for the 100th anniversary of the LPO) and history (sheet devoted to the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Denain).

On May 21 will be issued the EUROPA 2012 stamp (theme : "Visit ...") that I find so disappointing :(

The last stamp, issued on May 29th, will be engraved and will feature the Castle of Suscino (department of Morbihan, Brittany).

To note that the page above refers to a Red Cross m/s that will maybe be issued later this year ?

Finally, a booklet of 12 self-adhesive stamps, devoted to Cubism, will be issued in preview sale on May 10 (on general sale in September only !). This booklet replaces the one initialy scheduled in April that was devoted to works of art painted in the 20th century (including two paintings part of the new booklet : "The Blue Bird" by Metzinger and "The War Song, Portrait of Florent Schmitt" by Gleizes).

After dog breeds in 2011 and before bats in 2013, the French Post has issued, on general sale on April 23, 2012, a new souvenir sheet being part of its series "Nature", devoted this year to tropical fish and to the vulnerability of the sea floor that has to be protected.

I've to admit that this souvenir sheet, designed by Olivier Ciappa and David Kawena (Catharsis Productions), is really beautiful and is full of surprises !

It's that sheet (print run : 1.7 million), consisting of four stamps, that appears on the first day cover from Paris below, with a cancellation (also designed by Ciappa and Kawena) of April 20, 2012. Thank you very much Joël :-)

To note that the preview sale of this series took also place in Mamoudzou, a first since the end of the issue of specific stamps in Mayotte !

The star of this series is definitely the clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), known worldwide thanks to the animated film "Finding Nemo" in 2003. The other three species featured are living in the warm seas of the Indian and Pacific oceans : the Pennant coralfish (Heniochus acuminatus), the Emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) and the Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) accompanied by a Seahorse.

Among the technical innovations included on this sheet : the words "The seabed is fragile, let's protect them" in micro-letters on the back of the white shark, a mermaid in phosphorescent ink (that only shines in the darkness) included in the ocean's surface in the upper left as well as the printing of denominations of each stamp with an iridescent ink ranging from pink to green when tilted...

On April 18, 2012, the Post of Moldova has issued an interesting set of two EUROPA stamps whose theme this year is "Visit ..." ("Vizitaţi ...").

These two stamps, issued each in sheet of 10 stamps as well as in a booklet (I'll speak about it later), are included on the nice official FDC below (print run : 400 only !), laid out and illustrated by the designer of the stamps, Alexander Kornienko.

Thank you very much Sergio for this great cover with the FDC postmark of Chişinău, soberly featuring the logo of these EUROPA series :-)

The Moldovan Post has chosen to make us (re)discovered two important places of country's cultural , religious and economic heritage : the Curchi Monastery (L 4.20 stamp) and the "Mileştii Mici" wine complex (L 5,40 stamp).

To note also the illustration of the envelope to the left depicting some other touristic attractions of the country (statue of Stefan cel Mare and Cathedral of Chisinau, National Museum of Archaeology and History...).

Curchi Monastery (18th and 19th century) is one of the largest Orthodox complex of Moldova with its many buildings and churches including the Baroque cathedral (designed by Italian architect Rastrelli), the highest in the country with its 57 meters.

The "Mileştii Mici" Quality Wines Complex, a state enterprise established in 1969, is a symbol of the Moldovan wine production. More than 1.5 million bottles of high quality (a world record !) are stored in a network of underground over 200 km-long tunnels !

As mentioned above, these two stamps have also been issued in a beautiful booklet that I've had the chance to receive inside this letter !

The cover above evokes the vineyards of the country (nearly 150,000 hectares, 125,000 tons of wine produced annually) and a couple in traditional costume during a welcoming ceremony with bread (and probably salt...) and wine of course !To note that this "Bread and Salt" ceremony is the main topic of the EUROPA stamp to be issued this year by Russia.

In a post published on March 2, 2012 on this blog, I shared with you a cover from Spain, franked with two stamps being part of a series entitled "Everyone in support of Lorca", issued on January 2, 2012, devoted the rich architectural heritage of this city that has suffered greatly after the terrible earthquake of May 11, 2011.

The three other self-adhesive stamps (€ 0.36 each) of this series appear on this new letter below mailed on April 13, 2012 from Barcelona. Thank you very much Josep :-)

The stamp to the left shows the Castle, which was originally Arab, built on a promontory overlooking the entire city, with its two towers, the Alfonsina and the Buttress, erected between the 13th and 15th century.

The Sanctuary of the Virgen de las Huertas (stamp in the middle) is dedicated to the Lorca's patron. This building of the late 15th century, built on the site of a former Franciscan monastery, was destroyed in 1653 by floods and rebuilt in the mid 18th century.

The last stamp shows the facade of Town Hall of Lorca (ayuntamiento), an impressive building including Renaissance decorations dating from 1678, by sculptors Manuel and Antonio Caro.

Juan de Uzeta is the author of the sculptures of Justice and Charity as well as new coat of arms dating from 1739.

The postal administration of Latvia has had the good idea to choose the Riga National Opera for the design of its EUROPA 2012 stamp set, issued on March 17th, whose theme this year is "Visit...".

The two stamps (0.55 Lats and 1.20 Lats), with a print run of 100,000 each (in sheets of 10 stamps), designed by Arta-Ozola Jaunarāja, are respectively featuring an inside view of this building (with ballerinas dancing) and a part of its facade.

They appear on the nice registered cover below mailed from Riga on April 12, 2012. Thank you very much Juris :-)

The Latvian National Opera, that includes a ballet, a chorus and an orchestra, is one of the most internationally recognized Art institutions in the country.

The Opera House is located in the building of the former Riga City Theatre, built between 1860 and 1863 by the architect of St. Petersburg, Ludwig Bohnstedt, in an Hellenic classic style with an impressive facade composed of a portico of six ionic columns as well as several groups of allegorical sculpted figures.

The theme chosen this year for the 22nd edition of the Essen International Stamp Exhibition (held from 12 to 14 April 2012) was Football.

The opportunity to celebrate the exploits of the German team (the "Mannschaft"), the popular craze during the FIFA 2006 World Cup in Germany as well as the upcoming European Football Championship 2012.

On April 12, 2012, the Deutsche Post has issued a series of three charity "Für den Sport" stamps dedicated to great sporting events : the Olympic Games in London, the Table Tennis World Championships in Dortmund and the European Football Championship.

As part of its Biennial Exhibition held on 14 and 15 April 2012, the Philatelic Association of the French town of Ris-Orangis (91) has commemorated the 80th anniversary of a feat by two French aviation pioneers : Henry Robida (1902-1933) and Paul Codos (1896-1960).

These two aviators have indeed pulverized the record for the distance from Hanoi to Paris from 21 to 24 January 1932, in 60h22 of effective flight, aboard their "Breguet 330".

Henri Robida is buried in the cemetery of Ris-Orangis, hence this commemoration.

The Philatelic Association of Ris-Orangis has released for the occasion a special collector of 10 personalized stamps (type MonTimbraMoi) valid for a priority letter up to 20g (€ 15.00 the collector).

This stamp appears on the special cover above as well as the special postmark depicting a portrait of Henri Robida and the silhouette of his Breguet.Thank you very much Roland :-)

The stamp features a period photograph showing Henri Robida with also the journey made by two airmen in 1932 from Hanoi (Indochina) to Paris, with stops in Calcutta, Karachi, Basra, Athens, Rome and Marseilles.

La ville-état de Singapour, avec une densité de population très importante sur un petit territoire, ne dispose d'aucune nappe aquifère naturelle. La gestion des ressources en eau est donc un défi quotidien à relever pour alimenter la population en eau potable en particulier.The island city-state of Singapore, with a very high population density on a small territory, has no natural aquifer. The management of water resources is then a daily challenge to be met to provide the population with drinking water in particular.